As Part of World Password Day, New Website Provides Simple Steps to Proactively Strengthen Passwords

Santa Clara, Calif. — May 7, 2014 – In observance of the annual World Password Day on May 7th,McAfee, part of Intel Security, and its partners are leading an effort to help educate consumers worldwide on the importance of password safety in the wake of the multiple global security breaches. Consumers are encouraged to take the World Password Day pledge to change or strengthen their passwords by using the newly launched, http://www.passwordday.org, a dedicated destination for password education, powered by Intel Security.

Ninety percent of all passwords are vulnerable to being hacked.1 In the wake of recent high-profile data breaches, it is important now more than ever for consumers to be vigilant about strengthening and changing their passwords to protect their personal information. Last year, more than 170 organizations supported World Password Day by sharing password safety messages. Over 1 million passwords were assessed and 32,000 people took the pledge to strengthen their passwords. This year, McAfee along with Dell, Microsoft, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Terra, UOL, CCE, Windstream, Positivo Informática's Digital Business Area and others are encouraging consumers once again to take the time to educate themselves about password safety and be more proactive about securing their personal information.

To accompany World Password Day, consumers can now visit Passwordday.org to learn more about password safety. The site includes features such as, a password blaster web video game, password strength meter, McAfee’s Heartbleed bug checker tool, animated educational slideshow, tips and tricks for upgrading passwords, and the Official World Password Day pledge.

“Security breaches large and small are becoming rampant across the world, so consumers need to be aware of just how important it is to use multiple strong passwords,” said Michelle Dennedy, chief privacy officer at McAfee, part of Intel Security. “Our goal this World Password Day is to educate consumers on ways they can proactively protect their identities, and other personal information and assets, through a series of simple steps.”

Simple tips for password protection:

Choose length vs. complexity (use 14+ characters)

Use a password manager

Change passwords regularly

Use different passwords for bank, email and other sites

Use case-sensitive alphanumerics

Don’t use any dates or facts that can be found online

Don’t text, email or casually share your passwords

Don’t use simple passwords (123456, password, qwerty, etc.)

Don’t use one word passwords

To learn more about World Password Day, visit http://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/world-password-day. Follow and join in the World Password Day conversation online with #passwordday. There will be a tweet chat on May 7, 2014 at 12pm ET on the importance of passwords. Use #ChatSTC to join in on the conversation.

1Source: Deloitte, TMT Technology Predictions 2013, January 2013

About McAfee McAfee, part of Intel Security and a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its visionary Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique global threat intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com

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